Things I Love About Small Town Living

Moving out of the city has been a decision I honestly haven't looked back on. I went to Ottawa for work last week and I honestly just do not miss it (I miss my friends and that's about it).

I often spend time reflecting and thinking about how much I love about living in a small town again:

• Being able to leave five/ten minutes before...anything. Being in a small town means you can leave 5 minutes before an appointment, a movie, a class...anything. It seriously takes no time to go anywhere. You never have to factor in traffic or rush hours. You just go. The boy lives 15 minutes out of town, and it still takes me less time to get to his house than anywhere else in the city.

• Lack of temptations. I don't shop, I don't eat out, I don't splurge. Sure I go out to dinner every once in awhile (often at my mom's restaurant where I save 50%), or go out of town shopping, or go crazy in a store from time to time, but this is like 10% of what I used to do in the city. This saves money, calories and closet space. Now if I could just get my mom to stop buying marshmallows. 

• Less concrete more jungle. Okay not the actual jungle, but I certainly do not miss the big buildings, city skylines and concrete everywhere. I love looking out and not being able to count the trees, a view of lakes everywhere and just nature.

• You know people. We found a house for such a bang for our buck (when comparing to the city costs) just by knowing someone. No competition. It was ours. We can hardly wait to move March 1! 

• Likemindedness. Let's face it. I'm not a city girl. I thrived in the city and could bring out some city attitude, but the reality is, that's just not me. I am more so the day trip to the city kind of gal, or okay a night in a hotel visit kind. Being home in the small town atmosphere means being surrounded by people that get me and think like me.

• Simplicity. I love a simple life. Less consumerism, more moments. 

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

So it's not all fun and games. I'll admit there definitely are some things I do miss about the city:

• It being right there. While it does take forever to get anywhere, anywhere you want to go is basically within 30 minutes when you live in the city. Here it often involves making trips to the city. Perfectly awesome when you want to go out of town for a day, but it took some adjusting. This con definitely is outweighed though by the perk of less temptations. 

• Hours. Things close early. If you want something after some crazy hour, you're waiting until tomorrow. And if tomorrow is Sunday, you might be waiting longer.

• Things to do. In the summer, it's full of awesomeness, but in the winter... sometimes you just end up spending the night indoors. I'll admit that I often did this in the city too. There are lots of fun outdoor things to do here, but when the winter doesn't know if it wants to be winter, and it's raining in January, you're inside. 

• Classes at the gym. I love Body Flow (a class at my gym). In the city, you could choose from the 6 gyms and the 6-8 times that class is offered that day. At the gym here it's offered 3 times... a week. 

The moral of the story? I love home, and my home is a small town. What excites me even more is that come March I'll be living even more rural, and 10 km deeper into the bush away from the hustle and bustle of our town! 

Source: thesmilecollective.com.au via Whitnee on Pinterest